A Life Bartered
by Gaara's Plaything
Summary: Gaara rules Suna, Naruto rules Konoha. When Konoha needs help, will Gaara lend aid? And what price will he ask for his help? Will Naruto pay it even though it means trading the freedom of someone he cares about? Rewriting.
1. Chapter 1

**So I'm rewriting this too, and a few others as well. My writing style has changed to the point that some things that have been sitting there for awhile are no longer compatible with my current style. So that's why I started rewriting Katana, and why I'm rewriting this and several others. Plus there's also a couple that have been sitting there waiting for a rewrite for **_ages_**, and I'll be dealing with them as well.**

**In any case, remember that I don't own Naruto and please enjoy the chapter.**

_**A Life Bartered**_

**Chapter One**

The walls of the city of Konohagakure loomed before them, and the guards surrounding the powerful man entering the city tensed, ever ready for an attack. Not that they really needed to be, this was an ally city after all. But Sabaku no Gaara was the Kazekage, ruler of the desert lands that surrounded the equally imposing city of Sunagakure of the Land of Wind, and his guards were conditioned to be in the habit of expecting an assassin.

The presence of this powerful man was due to the fact that a rogue nation known as Sound had all but declared war on the Land of Fire, where Konoha lay. The enemy's numbers were vast enough to warrant the Hokage of Konoha, one Namikaze Naruto, to call for aid from his strongest ally, the leader of which also happened to be one of his oldest friends. Gaara and Naruto had seen one another often when they were younger due to the fact that both of their father's had been Kage's, and the two boys had been in the same age bracket.

Once they'd turned fourteen, however, that had changed. Gaara's father had died, murdered by traitors and usurpers who'd sought to take over the desert kingdom for themselves. They'd been embroiled in a bloody, civil war for a year, and when it had all been over, Gaara had emerged as the new Kazekage. He'd spent the next few years brushing up on politics, both theory and practical. He'd been busy fixing his nation and earning the respect of his people, and by the time he'd properly interacted with Naruto again, he was eighteen and thoroughly jaded, thanks to politics and the assassins that had come with the position.

Now, at twenty, Gaara was one of the most feared warriors out there, with a temper and a possessive streak to match. But he'd pulled his people back from the brink of near economic extinction and turned them into a mighty nation, who else could claim to have done something like that?

In any case, it was the reputation of his warriors that Naruto needed now from him, and Gaara was willing to lend their aid. The warriors of Sound were decimating Naruto's forces, and an alliance with Suna would ensure that Sound was driven back. Even if they hadn't been friends, Konoha was still a strong ally because of trade between their two lands. And now Gaara was here to go over details of his assistance to his oldest friend.

Once inside the gates of Konoha, Gaara cast a surreptitious glance around, noting that a lot had changed since he'd last been here. And also a lot that hadn't. He recognised a few places he'd been to all those years ago, the businesses still thriving in the economic hub that was Konoha. That was probably one of the reasons Sound wanted this territory so much, it was a resource rich land, fertile and with the perfect climate for bountiful harvests.

After making their way through the streets for at least half an hour, they finally came to the center of the city, the royal palace where the Hokage dwelt coming into view. Several minutes later they reached the main gates of the palace where Naruto himself was waiting for them.

"Gaara!" he greeted, coming forward and clasping his old friend in a hug. "I'm glad you could make it! I hope your trip wasn't too rough?"

"It was fine," Gaara said. "Your country is easily traversable."

"Sure…" Naruto said. "Well, shall we go up? My 'advisors' weren't too happy that I came out here to meet you myself, they seem to think that an assassin might get me or something. But this city is well guarded, so I told them to stuff it!"

"You didn't _actually_ say those exact words, did you?" Gaara asked, quite annoyed at his friend's cavalier attitude towards his own safety.

"Of course not, I'm not that stupid!" Naruto defended. "I was more polite and diplomatic with the way I worded it."

"Diplomatic?" Gaara asked as they walked up the stairs leading to the main door. "That word doesn't seem to fit you."

"Oi!" Naruto protested as the great doors of the palace were opened before them. "I'm extremely diplomatic, thank you!"

Gaara wasn't too sure of that. Naruto had only been Hokage for six months, his father had died almost a year ago. He knew that Konoha's main council of advisors hadn't wanted to give the blond his position unless he could prove that he was mature enough to handle it, and obviously he had done so. But Gaara himself still needed proof that Naruto was fit to be Hokage. He knew his heart was in the right place, but was his head?

"You really need to visit more," Naruto was saying as the doors closed behind them. "I've hardly seen you in years, and even then it was always for business."

"I do have a country to run," Gaara reminded him, "and so do you, Naruto."

"Whatever," Naruto said with a shrug, and before Gaara could comment, there was a rather loud noise that came from a woman who stormed over to them.

"Naruto!" the woman yelled. "I thought we were going to meet your old friend together?"

Gaara stared at the woman, who was blonder than Naruto, wondering who she was. Already she was annoying him.

"Uh, I forgot, Ino," Naruto said, then turned to Gaara. "Gaara, this is my wife, Ino."

Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow. _Wife?_ Naruto saw the look on his face and sighed.

"It's a political arrangement," he told his friend. "Ino's father is Yamanaka Inoichi, one of the most prominent businessmen in Konoha."

"_The_ most prominent!" Ino argued, then turned to smile sweetly at Gaara. "An alliance with my father ensures that Naruto remains in the loop where trade is concerned. But never mind that! Welcome to Konoha, Kazekage-sama, I hope you find your stay enjoyable."

Turning back to Naruto, Ino said, "I'm off to find Sakura, she promised me that we'd go over the dance for tonight."

Naruto nodded and she left, flouncing off to kami knew where. "Dance?" Gaara asked.

"We're having a feast for you tonight," Naruto told him. "There's gonna be some entertainment, including my wife and my sister dancing."

"I wasn't aware that you have a sister," Gaara said, trying to recall anyone ever mentioning one.

"I don't really," Naruto admitted. "But Sakura-chan is as good as. We grew up together, before I met you, but her family moved away to one of the border towns. She came back a few years ago and we bonded again."

Vaguely Gaara remembered that not long after he'd met Naruto when they were kids, he'd annoyed him by moaning about how his Saku-chan had been taken away from him. Maybe this woman was the one he'd spoken about? Naruto was talking to him again, and Gaara made himself pay attention.

"Let's get you to your rooms," the blond said. "Relax and get some rest if you need, then I'll see you at the feast. We'll talk about our alliance tomorrow, ok?"

"Sure," Gaara said, and let himself be shown the way to the Ambassadorial rooms.

OoOoO

Sakura was sitting in the royal gardens when she was startled by a voice behind her saying, "Boo!"

Jumping a mile in the air, Sakura turned with murder in her eyes to face her new friend, Ino, who'd been married to her childhood friend Naruto for only three weeks now. The two of them were so alike, it was almost scary. They were both loud, obnoxious and extremely annoying, but Sakura had learned that they also shared a devotion towards their friends, and a willingness to do anything to protect those that were precious to them. So despite her flaws, Ino was promising to turn into one of her best friends.

"Dammit! Don't scare me like that!" Sakura yelled.

Ino laughed at her, clutching her sides as she chortled, "You should have seen the look on your face!"

Sakura glared at her. "What do you want?" she asked.

"I want to go over the dance, of course," Ino said. "We only have one more chance before tonight. Oh and speaking of, the guest of honour arrived about ten minutes ago, and I have to say, I don't think I've ever met anyone who could pulled off rude and grumpy without trying like he can."

"Really?" Sakura said. "Did he say something offensive?"

"No, it was more the way he looked at me, I could tell we'd never get along," the blonde noted.

"Well, you are too much like Naruto," Sakura said with a slight teasing smile.

"That doesn't explain why he's such good friends with my husband then," Ino said, then she grabbed Sakura's hand. "Come on! Practice!"

As Ino dragged her out of the garden and down the hallways to the room that had bee set aside and emptied for their use, Sakura wondered why she'd let herself get roped into this dance. Even though she loved to dance, this particular one was one that she didn't like, but it was a traditional Konoha dance, and Ino'd wanted to make an impression on her husband's friend. But the dance was highly sensual, and had its origins in the Red Light districts. It tantalised the senses and turned even the most stubborn man into putty.

But that was just because of the modifications to the dance. When it had been adopted by the ninja academy, they'd changed it to use chakra. Kunoichi were taught to use this dance immediately when they hit puberty, Sakura knew, and the use of the chakra was standard for any seduction mission carried out. The only reason Ino knew this dance was because she'd had kunoichi training before marrying Naruto.

Sakura had also studied at the academy, but when her parents had moved, her education had ended. That was until an aunt on her mother's side had come to stay with them, an aunt who was a retired kunoichi, and she taught Sakura everything she knew, including medical ninjutsu. Her aunt, who was actually a great-aunt technically, was a famous medical kunoichi known to all as one of the Legendary Sannin, Lady Tsunade. She was also the only Sannin still alive.

In any case, Ino and Sakura had reached the room they were to practice in, and the pink haired girl sighed as her friend ran over to start up the music player, then came towards her with a huge grin on her face. Ino reached out her hands and Sakura took them, deciding to just lose herself in the music as she began to sway.

OoOoO

The scene was set as all the guests were settled into their seats for the feast and the entertainment. Naruto hadn't told him much about the dance his wife and 'sister' were doing, other than the fact that it was a traditional Konoha dance. But then he'd chuckled and said that its origins were a little questionable, though it was still entertaining. Questionable origins? Gaara wasn't sure he liked the sound of that.

In any case, everyone was here, ready for the evening to begin. Gaara had noticed that there were two vacant seats next to Naruto, on his left. He himself was sitting at the blond's right, but he figured the two empty seats were for the missing women. Several dishes full of food had already been brought out and people were already helping themselves when a man with silver hair that stuck out everywhere stepped out into the space set aside for the entertainment. The man was wearing a mask over at least half his face, and Gaara's eyes narrowed when he realised that this was Hatake Kakashi.

"Bout time," Naruto muttered next to him, and Gaara glanced at him briefly before returning his attention to the man in the center.

"My Lord Hokage, Lord Kazekage and other esteemed guests," Hatake said. "It is with great pleasure that I introduce the first round of entertainment tonight. Please welcome Namikaze Ino and Haruno Sakura for the _yūwaku no odóri_."

The lights dimmed and an overhead one switched on as two women appeared, dressed in silken gauze. One of them Gaara recognised from earlier as Naruto's wife, and the other one… He inhaled a sharp breath at the sight of her, wondering at the beauty she exuded. The clothes she wore clung to her curves, showing off the contours of her body, but without being revealing. Her face, a picture of serenity as she prepared to dance, was absolutely perfect, nothing off in the way of symmetry. And her eyes… he couldn't see them close enough, but they seemed to be a shade of green.

Gaara was quite taken with the rosette before him, and he sat there, rooted to his seat, as she began to dance alongside the other one. His insides began boiling and he wondered why he was having such a strong reaction to this one female, when he'd never had this reaction to anyone _ever_ before.

He felt the subtle waves of chakra emanated over him, and he wondered if that was why. In any case, Gaara decided that, if this feeling persisted after the dance when the seductive tones of the chakra were gone, then he was going to do anything and everything he could to make this woman his own.

**So what did you think? Review please!**

_Yūwaku: Seduction._

_Odóri: Dance._

_I put the two together and I hope it means Dance of Seduction._


	2. Chapter 2

**I've been really bad in updating anything, but all I can say is that I haven't felt like writing. And given the fact that for the last couple of months, I've been rather obsessed with playing the game Skyrim… well, all of that was a bad combination for my stories. But I discovered that this chapter was only a couple hundred words from complete, so it was easy to get done.**

**But whatever. I hope you all enjoy this update.**

**I don't own Naruto…**

**Chapter Two**

Sakura felt incredibly giddy with delight. Losing herself in the dance was helping her to forget any nerves she had about tonight, and as she and Ino slowed down to finish, Sakura felt quite pleased with their performance. All that practice had paid off, they hadn't stuffed up once. If she mentioned that to Ino, no doubt the blonde would scoff and say of course it was perfect because _she _was involved!

The beat set by the musicians was slow and seductive, and she and Ino moved with deliberate steps. This dance was seductive enough on its own without the use of chakra, and the amount of skin the two women were showing added to that. Long, pale arms moved in unison with the sway of their hips as the beat sped up, and soon they were dancing fast enough that their feet barely seemed to touch the ground.

Sakura could feel the audience responding to the mixture of their alluring moves and the subtle waves of chakra both she and Ino were emanating. The tempo of the music increased once more, the crescendo crashing over the dancers as well as the audience, and Sakura could feel their dance coming to an end. She and Ino weaved around one another, celebrating the music and their femininity, and all of a sudden the music stopped, and the two women ended on a sensual and challenging strut.

There was silence a moment, then the roar of the guests cheering and applauding. Breathing heavily, the two women bowed deeply to their audience before leaving the centre of the room and heading off to a place to quickly wash their sweat off and change into more suitable clothing.

"That was exhilarating!" Ino declared, and Sakura couldn't help but agree.

OoOoO

Gaara was stunned. How could one dance affect him so much? He'd felt the waves of chakra coming from them, and deduced that a large portion of what he and others were feeling was due to that, but the dance itself was certainly enough to man even the most powerful man weak at the knees. At least now he had an idea of what Naruto meant when he said the dance had questionable origins. Something like that could only come out of the Red Light districts found mostly in the major villages. What was it doing being used by the upperclassmen?

The fact that chakra was involved… Perhaps it had been adopted by shinobi to be used in the seduction missions of kunoichi? Something like that would definitely give them an edge on a mission… Gaara was intensely curious about this dance, and he intended to find out from Naruto what was involved in its history. In the meantime, though, he needed to get his body's reactions under control.

The woman, Sakura, was a stunning female, which was something Gaara could not deny. She'd sparked his interest when he saw her before the dance started, and then it had changed to a more sexual tone while she danced. He'd never really been too worried about women before, though that was not to say that he'd never been with one. He'd been with enough, but none of them had caught his attention in mere seconds like Sakura had. Something about her made her special in that regard, and he wanted to know why.

The atmosphere in the room lightened as more performers came out for their amusement, thought they could not hold a candle to the two women who'd come before them. A few jugglers, musicians, nothing really all that interesting, so Gaara ignored him. Instead, he turned his attention to Naruto, who was wearing the biggest grin he could manage.

"That performance was awesome, wasn't it?" Naruto said. "All the men here wanted them, but knew they couldn't touch, and it drove them crazy!"

Gaara grunted. "You're rather happy about that," he noted.

"That's because later, I_ do_ get to touch," he said. "Ino-chan, that is, not Sakura-chan. That would be gross."

"Gross?"

"I told you, she's practically my sister!"

Practically his sister. Gaara considered the fact that if his own sister ever danced like that, then he would kill all the men in the room at the time.

Gaara and Naruto's discussion turned to politics then, the trade agreement between their two nations, the lack of well trained medical nin and the outrageous price of barley wheat coming out of Earth Country. Twenty minutes later, the doors that Sakura and Ino had gone through opened to reveal the two women, more appropriately dressed for the evening. Ino made a beeline for her husband, throwing herself into his arms.

"Did you like our dance, Naru-kun?" she asked coquettishly. "I was magnificent, wasn't I?"

Naruto gave a goofy grin. "You sure were!" And he kissed her thoroughly right there and then.

Then _she_ came forward. Sakura. Gaara's eyes locked on to her lithe form and refused to be drawn away. "Naruto, you have guests, don't make them want to lose the food they're eating," she said with a smile, and Gaara was drawn in by her melodic voice.

The two of them broke apart, with Naruto pulling away from his wife to pout at Sakura. "That's a mean thing to say, Sakura-chan!" he complained then grinned and said, "You two did great! Did you enjoy yourself? I knew you'd enjoy yourself!"

"Of course I did," Sakura said. "You know that anyone who performs that dance feels great both during and after."

Ino snickered and Sakura glared at her, but it was only half-hearted. "Sit down, now!" Naruto said. "Have something to eat, you must be famished after all that exertion!"

He indicated a seat that was two down from him, and it was then that Sakura finally looked up and caught Gaara's rather intense gaze. "Oh, Sakura-chan! How could I forget?" Naruto exclaimed. "This is Sabaku no Gaara, one of my oldest friends!"

OoOoO

Sakura inclined her head to the red head, and Gaara returned the gesture. She was rather surprised when she saw him, he wasn't what she'd expected from the descriptions of both Naruto and Ino. And the fact that he kept staring at her… It was unnerving to say the least. The look he was sending her way was so intense, she felt that she would falter. She bravely returned his gaze, but felt that in a battle of wills, he would be the victor.

Her breath was stolen from her as she stared him, he was so handsome. He had intense jade eyes that burned into her, and when she broke his gaze, she took more note of his hair, which was blood red. There was something like a tattoo on his forehead, or perhaps it was a scar? It was the kanji for love. There were rings around his eyes that looked like they were caused by insomnia, but she hadn't heard anything about that sort of thing, though how would she know?

He wasn't letting up on the intensity of his gaze, despite the fact that she was sure he knew how uncomfortable she was under it. Sakura shifted nervously under his scrutiny, and had the uncanny feeling that he was mentally undressing her, and that made her feel even more vulnerable. More than a little hesitantly, Sakura sat down two chairs away from Naruto, even as Ino sat down between them. The curved layout of the tables allowed Gaara to see her, and he kept his uncomfortable gaze on her through the rest of the evening.

Eventually the feast wound up, and Sakura made her excuses, getting away from that intense gaze as quickly as she could. Once she made it to the apartments set aside for her, she changed into a more comfortable dress, then donned a hooded cloak and headed off to the royal gardens, where she often found herself when she felt this off-centered. The serenity of the gardens would help her to calm down, and she sat down on one of the benches, gazing up at the night sky.

OoOoO

To say that Gaara was disappointed when Sakura left was an understatement. The direction she'd headed off in was west, towards the private apartments, the same direction as the Ambassadorial suites where he was staying himself. He wondered how quickly he could find out which of the western apartments was hers, though he had no idea what excuse he could use to go see her. But he would think of something, even if it seemed suspicious.

Before even coming here, Gaara had decided that he was going to be helping Naruto with the Sound problem. It was one of the reasons he'd brought such a large retinue along, he intended to leave almost all of them here when he left. One of the Generals he brought was an excellent strategist, and would be able to help plan how to use the extra forces to cover the areas Naruto considered the most sensitive. And once it was all settled and Gaara returned home, then he would send on even more troops to help stage a few counter offensives against the enemy.

Before he officially committed those men, though, he wanted to talk to Sakura, to get a feel for her personality, see if they were compatible. If they were, then he intended to use her in his bargaining with Naruto, though he wasn't entirely sure how just yet. One way or another, however, he was going to have her, whether for one night of passion while he was here, or forever in his palace with her growing fat with his child.

First things first though, he had to delay talking with Naruto over the Sound matter, and get Sakura alone.

Naruto was talking to someone at his left, not his wife, she'd left shortly after Sakura, the entertainment and the food had all gone. All that was left now was saké and politics. The person Naruto was talking to was Inuzuka Kiba, the ambassador to Konoha for Gekkōgakure, in the land of Half Moon. The Hyuuga, a powerful shinobi clan, were in power there, and their Tsukikage was Hyuuga Hiashi. Suna didn't really have much interaction with them, as their lands lay on the far side of Fire, closer to Sound and Lightning. But they did have an Ambassador in a suite in the palace, one Aburame Shino, for basic political affectations.

Raucous laughter interrupted Gaara's thoughts, and he realised that Naruto was slowly getting drunk with Kiba. There would definitely be no talking with him now, and he was glad of that. Gaara stood and made to leave, but Naruto noticed and asked extremely loudly, "Hey, Gaara! Where ya goin'?"

Sighing, Gaara turned to his friend and said, "To my rooms. It's been a long day."

"Oh, ok," Naruto said, then went back to his 'conversation' with the Inuzuka.

Grateful the drunk blond didn't press the issue, Gaara left the banquet hall behind him, intent on finding a certain beautiful, cherry haired woman.

OoOoO

The gardens were quiet except for the sounds of cicadas and assorted night birds. Sakura sat on a bench under one of the cherry blossom trees, though they weren't flowering at the moment. It was her favourite place to sit and think, though Ino liked to tease her a little about the fact that she was so comfortable with something that had the same name as her. Even Naruto had grinned like an idiot and poked at her when he'd found out, though she'd smacked him upside his head for that.

Sakura was one of the few people who could get away with something like that, another being Ino, of course.

In any case, she sat with her eyes closed, taking in the cold night air. It was autumn right now, soon it would be too cold to come out here at night, and she intended to take it in as much as she could before then.

It must have been almost an hour that she simply sat there before she sensed that someone had intruded on her privacy. Opening her eyes, she looked over towards the entrance of the gardens to see that Naruto's friend, Gaara, was leaning against the gate, staring at her with that intense and disturbing gaze of his. The two of them stared a moment, then Gaara pushed off the gate and walked over to her. Sakura's heart began to race, but she used her medical training to force it back to a normal rate, though she still felt uncomfortable under his gaze.

As soon as he reached her, Sakura stood, not wanting to feel dominated by his being up too much higher than she was, though he was a good head taller than her. The two of them stood there a moment, not saying anything, just staring, then Sakura nervously broke the silence and asked, "Greetings, Kazekage-sama. Was there anything you wanted?"

**So you know the drill… Review please!**

_Gekkōgakure: Gekkō means moonlight, so village hidden in moonlight._

_Tsuki means moon. Tsukikage, hopefully moon shadow._


End file.
